Deputy Minister of Works, Ahmad Maslan, stated that RM4 billion is needed to repair all damaged roads across Malaysia.
The two main factors contributing to road damage nationwide are adverse weather conditions and heavy vehicles carrying overloaded cargo.
Ahmad Maslan also mentioned that the Ministry has so far received only half of the required amount to carry out the necessary repairs.
“We have never received such a large allocation. Instead, we were given nearly RM2 billion, as the government itself faces certain constraints,” he said.
“However, we always hope to receive increased allocations each year to repair damaged roads, as some roads are old and their surfaces need repaving,” Ahmad said during a press conference after officiating the Bachok Division UMNO Representative Meeting on June 28.
He added that the Ministry had previously proposed that revenue from road taxes and speed limit summonses collected by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) be redirected to the Ministry of Public Works (KKR) for road maintenance purposes.
However, there has been no response to the proposal to date.
“Therefore, if there is a proposal from certain parties to increase taxes on vehicles carrying heavy loads, we will leave the matter to two ministries — the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport,” he said.
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